Emotions, Technology, and Health

Emotions, Technology, and Health examines how healthcare consumers interact with health technology, how this technology mediates interpersonal interactions, and the effectiveness of technology in gathering health-related information in various situations. The first section discusses the use of technology to monitor patients’ emotional responses to illness and its treatment, as well as the role of technology in meeting the fundamental human need for information. Section Two describes the use of technology in mediating emotions within and between individuals, and addresses the implications for the design and use of devices that gather behavioral health data and contribute to healthcare interventions. The final section assesses different situations in which technology is a key component of the health intervention—such as tablet use in educating elementary school students with social skills difficulty, physical activity monitoring for children at risk for obesity, and teleconferencing for older adults at risk of social isolation.

Shows how information on the internet significantly affects the medical decision-making process for many consumersDescribes current applications of social computing and quick access to mental health information on portable electronic devicesDiscusses how cyber-communication may both impair and enhance one’s sense of humanityDetails the role of visual media in mediating emotion and memory of time

I. Telehealthcare Systems and Patient Interactions 1. Using Technology to Support Assessment of Patients’ Emotional States in Healthcare 2. The Role of Patient Education Technology in Increasing Patient Empowerment 3. Digitized Emotions in the Pocket: Social Computing and Mobile Mental Health (mMH) Applications II. Technology and Emotional health 4. What is Emotional in Emotional Robotics? Emotion-Evoking Effects of Using Robots 5. Cyberhearts: Empathy and Humanistic Relations in the Use of Technology 6. Balancing Behaviors: Couples’ Argumentation via Different Media 7. Memory, Media, Nostalgia, and Grief: The Role of Online Images in Mediating Memory and Emotion III. Technology in Clinical Treatment 8. Using I-Pad Applications in Social Skills Education and Counseling in an Elementary School 9. Jealousy, Anxiety, and Drama: Personal Fitness Technology and Narratives of Value 10. Positive Psychology and Web-Based Curriculum to Treat Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder 11. Our Songs, Ourselves: Building Elder Communities Through Teleconference Technologies